Overlays are a Weak Form of Active Networking


                Jonathan M. Smith, CIS Department
                University of Pennsylvania


  Active networks were proposed as an escape from the technology-
  slowing effect of standardization and as a platform with which new
  network architectures could be explored. The same claims are now being
  made for overlay networks, which leads to the question of "what has
  changed?". This talk argues that an overlay architecture is inherently
  weaker than an active network, provides supporting examples, and
  suggests a more ambitious networking research agenda. In particular,
  we focus on how layer-crossing approaches can enable new forms of
  adaptation and support new applications.